La Alegría
by BeaumontRulz
Summary: A game of truth or dare ends up in a predictable place, what with a drunken Seamus in attendance. Three-parter. HrG.
1. Part I

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

**A/N: First of all, I must apologise for the state of this story in terms of editing - it's half done... I've been unable to contact the person who was going over it with me. Hopefully once I manage to talk to her again, we'll have the rest of it beta-ed and I'll repost. But for now, this is what I've decided to post. I'm going to post this story in three parts... the second part is already finished, and I'm almost done with the final part. Hopefully it will be finished tonight.  
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**Second, the title is significant... **_**La Alegría**_** by Yasmin Levy is a song I've been listening to a hell of a lot over the past week, and the first lines of it are what really get to me: **_**Yo bebo y bebo y bebo para olvidarte; Yo duermo y duermo y duermo para no pensar**_**. It means 'I drink and drink and drink to forget you; I sleep and sleep and sleep not to think'. I guess in order to have any idea about how these words really affect me you'd have to be in my place. But I also thought it was appropriate for a lot of this story.**

**Thirdly… this is dedicated to someone I hope will notice this has gone up. She helped me come up with the idea and she's been an incredible friend over the past few months. I hope she reads it, and I hope she knows how much I need and adore her.**

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**La Alegría – Part I**

"Please, Hermione?" Ron whined, practically getting down on hands and knees, begging her to follow him and the other Gryffindor seventh years to the Room of Requirement for a small game of Truth or Dare.

"No, Ron," Hermione snapped at him, for what must've been the tenth time. "I've already explained why I'm not coming, just go without me!"

"But…"

"No," she said firmly, looking back down at her book.

Ron sighed heavily and looked around at Harry, "Should we?"

Harry shrugged, "Go on."

Ron nodded solemnly and marched across the common room to where Ginny was sitting with her friends. After speaking to her for about a minute, he came back with her.

"Alright, we're going then," he said loudly, winking rather obviously at Ginny as he, Harry and the rest of the Gryffindor seventh years left the common room.

"Hi Hermione," Ginny said, sighing as she plopped herself down on the couch next to the Head Girl.

"I'm not going with them," Hermione said pointedly, as she put her book down to look at Ginny.

Ginny grinned, "You know Ron came over to ask me to ask you to go?"

"Every time he wants me to do something and knows I won't if he asks me, he gets you or Harry to ask me," the brunette said, twisting her body around on the couch to face Ginny.

"He won't shut up about it unless you go, you know," Ginny said seriously. "I'll come with you, if you want."

Hermione threw a glare in the direction of the portrait hole – Ginny assumed it was meant for Ron – and sighed. "Alright, fine. We can go for a little while."

Ginny grinned again, "Come on then."

* * *

After sneaking through the castle as quietly as they could, they came to the Room of Requirement. As they entered the room, they were greeted by raucous cheering as Ron downed three shots of Firewhiskey.

Hermione rolled her eyes, "Do I really have to stay?"

"Yes," Ginny said, slipping her hand down to hold Hermione's. "It'll be alright, and you don't have to stay for a very long time."

"Hermione!" Ron exclaimed suddenly, "I knew you'd come!"

"I guess you did," Hermione muttered, glancing sideways at Ginny, not feeling reassured at all by Ginny's hand enclosed around hers.

"Come sit down!" he slurred, patting the spot next to him enthusiastically.

"No Ron, we'll sit down here," Ginny said quickly. "Go back to the game guys, what're you up to?"

"We're playing truth or dare," Lavender told her, grinning widely, "Ron just did his dare, so he gets to spin the bottle and challenge whoever it lands on."

"Awlright!" Ron exclaimed, leaning forward unsteadily and grabbing at the empty green bottle in the centre of the circle. He spun it and it landed on Dean. "Dean! Truth or Dare?"

"Uhh," Dean said uncertainly, "how about a truth this time?"

Ron grinned, "Okay. Have you... lost your virginity?"

Lavender and Parvati, predictably, dissolved into giggles while Hermione rolled her eyes and looked sideways at Ginny. She and Dean did used to date after all. Even if Hermione did think the question was embarrassingly immature and trivial, she couldn't help but wonder what the answer would be. Ginny looked just as disapproving as Hermione did,

"What a stupid question," she muttered, so only Hermione could hear.

Meanwhile, Dean had gone slightly pink in the face. "Um...well...not exactly..." he trailed off, now looking downright uncomfortable.

"So that's a no," Ginny interrupted quickly.

Ron snorted, "The virgin has to spin then."

"Oh shut up Ron!" Hermione snapped. "You're not one to talk."

"Have another Firewhiskey," Harry said quickly, offering the bottle to Ron before the tall red-head could yell back at Hermione. "Dean, just spin."

The game continued on in a civil fashion, or at least as civil as it could be with a drunken Ron in the mix. Over the next hour or so everyone was forced to do at least three shots of Firewhiskey each, including Hermione. This was probably the only way that anyone was going to get her to do _anything_.

"Ok Parvati," Seamus hiccupped, "I dare you and Padma to make out!" he exclaimed, throwing his arms up and looking rather pleased with himself. The rest of the boys suddenly looked rather excited and edged forward a little.

Parvati and Padma made identical faces of disgust. "That's disgusting, we're sisters!" Parvati said, glaring at the boys.

"But hot sisters," Seamus said encouragingly, winking at the girls. "Come on, it's not as though you're going to have sex."

"No," Parvati and Padma said at the same time, crossing their arms.

"Aww," Seamus pouted.

"Will any of you lot make out with each other?" Dean asked, pointing his finger unsteadily at the girls.

"How about Hermione and Ginny?" Seamus slurred quickly, looking pleased with himself again.

"What?" Hermione asked, looking rather worried and feeling quite sober suddenly.

"Seamus wants us to make out," Ginny giggled, poking Hermione in the side. "Don't you want to?"

"I... I don't know if I'm quite drunk enough for that," Hermione said nervously, biting down on her bottom lip.

"Come on Hermione," Seamus insisted impatiently, "we wanna see some hot girl-on-girl action!"

The rest of the boys nodded in agreement, except Ron, who had decided to close his eyes and stick his fingers in his ears, not really wanting to see his innocent little sister kiss his ex-girlfriend.

"Go on," Seamus insisted again, "the faster you do it, the faster it'll be over."

Hermione sighed exasperatedly and leaned forward, pecking Ginny quickly on the lips. "Satisfied?" she asked.

"No!" Seamus exclaimed in outrage, "Come on Hermione, give her a _real_ kiss."

"It's alright, Hermione," Ginny said, smirking slightly, "friends kiss each other all the time."

Hermione was still wondering about the factuality of that statement when Ginny kissed her. She was so surprised that she automatically kissed her back, immediately taking note of how soft and smooth her lips were. Ginny slowly worked Hermione's mouth open, shifting her body so that she was almost on top of the older girl, sucking softly but insistently on her bottom lip. Hermione finally opened her mouth and their tongues touched. Hermione pulled Ginny closer, beginning to feel light-headed.

She felt as though she was spinning, feeling absolutely intoxicated by this kiss. Hermione was sure this feeling had nothing to do with the Firewhiskey she'd consumed earlier, and knew that the only way to figure out what she was feeling was to hold Ginny closer and kiss her harder.

When the need for oxygen became too great for both girls they broke apart, foreheads resting on each other's and breathing fast.

"Maybe we should leave the room," Harry said in a nervous voice, sounding as though he was very far away from Hermione.

"No fucking way," Seamus breathed, his eyes wide open, "do it again!"

"Shut up Seamus," Lavender said quickly, watching Hermione and Ginny move back from each other slowly. "It's their turn to spin the bottle."

"Oh... right," Ginny muttered, shaking her head slightly and looking around for the bottle. "I'll spin it then," she said quietly, picking the bottle up and spinning it.

It didn't take long for the group to get back into the game, Seamus and Ron asking stupid questions and everyone drinking more alcohol. Hermione and Ginny spent much of the rest of the night in silence, sitting next to each other and both thinking about the kiss.

* * *

When Hermione woke up the next morning, it was with a face-full of long red hair. She frowned, wondering why Ginny was in her bed, and moved the hair out of her face. She looked around and realised they were still in the Room of Requirement. Lavender, Parvati and Padma were snuggled up together on some cushions, and the boys were all sprawled around the rest of the room. Ginny was breathing deeply, one of her arms curled up around her head, the other one around Hermione's shoulders. One of Hermione's arms was slung across Ginny's waist, and one of her legs was in between Ginny's. She smiled slightly and closed her eyes, breathing in Ginny's scent deeply and moving closer to her.

After a few minutes, she decided she probably wasn't going to fall back to sleep, so Hermione sat up slowly, making sure she didn't disturb Ginny. There were empty bottles of alcohol everywhere and she was suddenly thankful that she hadn't had more than those three shots of Firewhiskey Ron made her drink at the beginning of the night.

"Maybe I should clean this up," she muttered to herself, sighing heavily and looking at the mess helplessly.

"Don't bother," she heard Ginny say quietly from behind her. "Once we leave the Room'll clean itself up."

Hermione looked back at the younger girl and began to feel slightly nervous. "Ah, you're right. Maybe we should get going then?"

Ginny rolled over onto her back with a small grunt and stretched out. "Leave the rest of them here to sleep off the booze. It's Sunday anyway, no Quidditch practice or school or anything."

Hermione nodded and looked down at her watch, "It's almost one. Let's go back to Gryffindor Tower, have a shower and then go down for lunch."

"Good idea," Ginny said, yawning slightly and standing up. "I'm surprised we slept for so long," she remarked, looking back at the uncomfortable 'bed' of cushions they'd slept on. She grinned at Hermione, "Last night was interesting though, huh."

Hermione smiled uncertainly, "Yeah. Come on, I'm hungry."

* * *

Hermione and Ginny spent the rest of the day together. They quickly stopped off at Gryffindor Tower to shower and change, then went down for a late lunch. The Great Hall was almost deserted, but there was still enough food for the two of them. After lunch, they walked back to Gryffindor Tower where Hermione sat down to do homework and Ginny sat down next to her to read her Transfiguration textbook and write notes. They worked quietly and happily together for the next couple of hours, both quite content with sitting close to each other.

"Is there one 'r' in correlation or two?" Ginny asked, frowning down at her textbook.

"Two," Hermione replied, looking sideways at her. "Why?"

"There's a typo in the textbook," Ginny sighed, "that's annoying."

Hermione smiled, "Perfectionist."

"Look who's talking," Ginny poked Hermione in the side with a silly grin spreading across her face.

"What does that mean?" Hermione asked, poking her friend back.

"Just that you're one of the most obsessive compulsive people I've ever met," Ginny laughed, catching Hermione's hands before she was able to poke her again.

"I am not!" Hermione exclaimed in amused outrage, trying to free her hands. "How am I obsessive compulsive?"

"You don't leave homework or an essay alone until you've finished it, edited it and made doubly sure that everything is neatly set out," Ginny giggled, holding onto Hermione's hands tightly. "Give in, Hermione," she said, giving the older girl a triumphant grin.

"Never!" Hermione exclaimed dramatically, launching herself forward suddenly so she was on top of Ginny. "Now, you give in!" she grinned back at the girl beneath her.

Ginny grinned nervously, "Alright, alright, I give in."

Hermione grinned back, missing the nervous look on Ginny's face. "Good! Now, do you need any more help with your homework?"

Ginny snorted, rolling her eyes, "No, I think I'm good."

"Okay," Hermione said, smiling happily and moving off Ginny to sit next to her, pulling her homework towards herself.

Ginny sighed and smiled. Resting her head on her hand, she watched Hermione being to work for a moment, before shaking her head slightly and looking back down at her own work.

She wanted to ask Hermione about the night before. She wanted to know why Hermione kissed her back so enthusiastically. She wanted to know if there were feelings behind the intensity of her reaction... she wanted to know if she felt the same way.

Ginny sighed and looked away from Hermione, back at her textbook. She tried to keep on reading, picking up her quill to make notes, but after reading the same sentence three times, she decided to put her quill down and build up the courage to ask Hermione about what was distracting her.

"Hey Hermione," Ginny said slowly, chewing on the inside of her mouth slightly as she turned to look back at the older girl.

"Yeah?" Hermione responded, looking sideways at Ginny with a half-grin on her face.

"You know what happened last night?" she asked, suddenly looking slightly nervous.

Hermione blushed, "Oh... you mean what Seamus made us do?"

"Yeah... I mean... I don't suppose you..."

"Oh, don't worry Ginny," Hermione said quickly, the pink in her cheeks darkening slightly, "I'm straight, it's ok."

"Ah," Ginny murmured, looking down at her textbook again, frowning.

Hermione was silent for a moment, watching Ginny. Then she spoke, "Aren't you?"

She didn't respond, closing her book and putting it on the table in front of her. Hermione bit her lip and twisted her body to face Ginny.

"Gin?"

"I think I'm gonna go and have dinner," she said softly, standing up quickly.

"It's only five o'clock," Hermione said, reaching out to touch Ginny's arm softly. "Come on, talk to me."

"No," Ginny said, her voice still very quiet. She stood up, "Listen, I'll see you later."

"Alright," the older girl said, biting on her bottom lip and watching Ginny walk away. She frowned and looked down at her homework, wondering why her stomach suddenly seemed to be doing light somersaults.

* * *

_Yo bebo y bebo y bebo... para olvidarte…_


	2. Part II

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter

**A/N: So, this is the second part. I hope you enjoy it :) oh, excuse my feeble attempt at coming up with an 'original' password for the portrait hole ¬¬ I hate having to do that... but oh well.  
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**Please review.**

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**La Alegría – Part II**

Hermione felt decidedly sick.

She was sure that there was nothing physically wrong with her, despite feeling as though she was going to hurl the contents of her stomach. She sighed heavily and sat back, pressing the heels of her palms into her eyes, trying to breathe deeply and settle her stomach.

"You alright, Hermione?" Harry asked, looking across at Hermione from the other side of the table.

"Yeah," Hermione said quietly, lowering her hands from her eyes. "Yeah, I'm alright."

"Okay," Harry said, smiling at her. "Do you think you could help me out with these Charms questions?" he asked, pushing his list of questions towards her.

She smiled back at him, "Sure. What're you having problems with?"

He grinned happily at her and leaned forward to point at the questions he was having trouble with. Hermione managed to help him, undisturbed, for twenty minutes before they were interrupted.

Hermione was looking up from the work she and Harry were doing, trying to think of the best way to word what she was thinking, when she saw a glimpse of long red hair through the bookshelves of the library. She bit her bottom lip and her stomach returned to doing aerobatics as she realised Ginny was coming towards her.

"Hey Harry," Ginny said as she approached the pair, leaning on the back of the chair Harry was sitting on and poking him on the shoulder.

"Hey Gin," Harry grinned. "Hermione's helping me with that Charms crap I was complaining about last night."

Ginny smiled weakly, "That's good. Listen, I just wanted to talk to you about some tactics for Quidditch. I'd like to talk to Ron about them too, d'you reckon we could talk about it at dinner tonight?"

"Sure, sounds good," Harry said, smiling at the youngest Weasley.

"Alright. I should go do some of my homework too then," Ginny said, glancing at Hermione.

"Do you need any help?" Hermione asked, desperately hoping that the state of her stomach wouldn't have any effect on the tone of her voice.

"No, I'm fine with it," Ginny said quickly, "See you later." She turned and walked briskly towards the exit, leaving Hermione with triple the amount of butterflies in her stomach.

"What was that?" Harry asked, sounding confused.

Hermione bit her bottom lip again and looked down at Harry's homework. "Nothing. We should do this work if you want to get to the Great Hall on time for dinner."

"Hermione," Harry said softly, reaching forward to touch her wrist, "that wasn't nothing. What's going on with you two? You guys haven't spent any time together all week."

Hermione shrugged, "I don't know, she's just been avoiding me." She wasn't sure what else she should say to Harry. She wasn't sure how much more she knew, if she was honest with herself.

"Mmm," Harry murmured, frowning at his best female friend. "Have you tried to talk to her about it?"

"Every time she sees me, she turns around to walk away or something. I've tried to talk to her, but she won't let me get near enough to have an actual conversation with her," Hermione sighed, glancing at the exit Ginny had taken a minute earlier.

"Do you want me to talk to her?" Harry asked.

"No, it's alright. I guess I'll try to corner her after you and Ron talk to her tonight," Hermione said, giving Harry a small smile. "Come on, we should finish this work."

"Right."

* * *

There was shepherd's pie for dinner that night. Hermione's favourite. The house elves had really outdone themselves too; the potato, in particular, was especially creamy and fluffy. Hermione, however hadn't really noticed. She sat opposite from Ginny and Ron, with Harry next to her, watching Ginny talk animatedly about possible Quidditch formations and tactics.

That was all she did during dinner; sit there eating and watching Ginny talk. As she took her second mouthful of food, she was admiring the way Ginny's eyes were sparkling as she talked emphatically. By the time half of her shepherd's pie had disappeared, she was carefully watching the way Ginny's lips moved as she spoke, subconsciously remembering the way they felt up against her own.

_Soft, insistent sucking on her bottom lip... tongues touching, fighting, dancing... soft, breathless moans and creamy pale, smooth skin..._

Hermione heard a loud CLUNK, and suddenly realised her hands were wet.

"Hermione, you okay?" Harry asked, gripping her forearm and rubbing it softly with his thumb.

"I'm... I'm fine," Hermione said, her voice shaking slightly. She looked down at the table to see she had knocked her goblet of pumpkin juice over.

"You sure?" Harry asked, frowning at her.

"Yeah, I'm alright. Just got lost in my thoughts for a second," Hermione said, taking her napkin from her lap and dabbing up the pumpkin juice as best she could. She glanced up at Ginny to see her chewing on her bottom lip and watching her. "I think I might go up, actually," she said, quickly standing up.

"But you haven't finished dinner!" Harry called after her. He sighed as she kept on walking, frowning at her back.

"More for me then!" Ron said, leaning forward to grab her plate.

"Don't touch it," Ginny snapped, smacking his hand away.

"Why not?" Ron asked in surprise. "She's not coming back."

"She'll be hungry later on," Ginny glared at her older brother.

"You can take it to her then," Harry said, looking pointedly at Ginny.

The redheaded girl bit her bottom lip. "I think you should," she said, reaching for her goblet of pumpkin juice to take a sip.

"No," Harry said firmly. "There's been something off between you two all week, and I think you need to sort it out with her."

Ginny didn't look at him, glaring down at her plate instead.

Harry sighed, "If you don't take it to her, I guess it's alright for Ron to eat it."

"Fine," Ginny said quickly, leaning forward and grabbing the plate before Ron could. "I'll take it to her now then, I'm full."

"Good," Harry muttered.

* * *

Ginny wasn't sure where Hermione would be. She could only think of two places Hermione went to after leaving dinner in such a huff; the library or Gryffindor Tower. Ginny decided to check the library first, knowing it was far more likely for Hermione to want to be surrounded by books. She peered around the corner of the door to the library to see if Madam Pince was there, and once she confirmed the entrance to the library was unguarded, she quietly walked in, heading straight for the table near the restricted section.

_At least you know this is affecting her._

"What's affecting her?" Ginny muttered to herself.

_The fact that you and her aren't talking._

"Right," she sighed heavily as she reached the table at the furthest corner of the library. There was no one there.

Ginny turned around and walked back towards the exit, moving as quickly and quietly as she could. Thankfully, she made it out of there without Madam Pince coming at her with books flailing at the sight of food in her most sacred library.

"Gryffindor Tower, then," Ginny said to herself, beginning to walk in that direction.

_You never told her anything, y'know._

"I know," Ginny muttered, chewing down on her bottom lip.

_That wasn't really fair to her._

"So you've been telling me all week," she sighed. "I can't face her."

_Well, you're going to have to now._

"I know. _Butternut_," Ginny said to the Fat Lady, who smiled happily and swung open to let her pass. Ginny climbed through the portrait hole and walked through to the common room to find it deserted. She glanced down at the plate of food she was still holding, noticing it had gone cold. Withdrawing her wand from her robes, she quickly cast a mild heating charm over the shepherd's pie before climbing the staircase up to the girl's dormitory.

* * *

Hermione was sitting on her bed, trying to calm down by reading a book. The images her mind had jumped to during dinner really shook her up. Straight girls didn't fantasize about... _that_ during dinner, while watching the person inspiring these rather racy thoughts.

'_I was only thinking about it because of what happened last weekend!'_ Hermione thought furiously to herself for what felt like the millionth time.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door and a painfully familiar voice called out, "Hermione?"

Hermione dropped her book and stared at the door fearfully, not able to say anything since her throat had decided to close up.

"I'm coming in," Ginny called before opening the door.

"W-what are you doing here?" Hermione asked, swallowing against the lump in her throat.

"You didn't finish dinner," Ginny said, holding the plate of food up. "Shepherd's pie is your favourite, and I didn't want you to go hungry."

"I'm surprised Ron didn't eat it before you could bring it up here," Hermione said, giving Ginny a half-hearted smile.

Ginny smiled back at her, "I smacked him away from it."

There was silence for a second before Ginny sighed softly and approached Hermione's bed, "I'll leave this here with you then."

"Thanks," Hermione said softly, watching Ginny place the plate at the foot of her bed. She was still trying to build up the courage to ask Ginny what was actually going on when Ginny turned around and began to walk out the room.

Hermione grit her teeth, slipped off the bed and stood up, "Ginny!"

Ginny stopped in the doorway and slowly turned around. "What's up?" she asked.

"I just... I just want to know why you've been avoiding me all week," Hermione said, moving closer to Ginny.

The younger girl sighed and looked down at the floor. "You already know why."

"No I don't, you never told me you were gonna stop talking to me or avoid me and you certainly didn't voice any reasons why," Hermione said quickly, trying desperately not to sound angry. She wasn't angry, she definitely wasn't angry.

Ginny looked back at the hallway and moved into the room, closing the door behind her. "People are starting to come back from dinner," she said, turning around to look at Hermione again.

"Please tell me why," Hermione said softly, feeling tears at the corners of her eyes forming.

"Alright," Ginny replied. "Sit down and I'll tell you."

Hermione moved back to the edge of her bed and sat down, clasping her hands together on her lap and trying not to fiddle with her fingers nervously.

Ginny ran her fingers through her hair slowly, chewing on her bottom lip, before sitting down on the edge of Parvati's bed, opposite Hermione. She was leaning forward with her elbows on her knees and the heels of her palms pressed into her eyes. She looked so helpless and cute that Hermione couldn't help but want to move closer to her and put her arms around her and make her feel better...

"I... like you," Ginny said quietly.

"As... more than a friend?" Hermione asked, her stomach doing that butterfly thing again.

Ginny nodded and looked up at the brunette, "For a while now."

"Ah," Hermione said, "and the kiss...?"

"Really didn't help," Ginny sighed, looking down at her hands. "I'm sorry, I was drunk and I just couldn't help myself."

"It's alright," Hermione said quickly, "I didn't mind the kiss." She grinned slightly, hoping to make Ginny smile a little. "It's just that..."

"You're straight," Ginny said, looking back up at Hermione. "It's okay."

"Yeah... I'm straight," Hermione said softly, trying to ignore the sudden plummet her stomach took as the words escaped her mouth.

"So, you know why I can't be around you," Ginny said, standing up. "I can't get over you if I'm around you all the time and I really don't want to lose you as a friend."

Hermione nodded, blinking furiously to try to make the tears in her eyes go away.

"I cast a heating charm on your food," Ginny added before leaving, "but you might want to redo it or something."

Hermione sniffed slightly and nodded, looking up at her.

Ginny sighed, "Please don't cry. I promise things will get back to normal soon."

Hermione nodded again and rubbed her eyes. She felt a small pressure at the top of her head and realised it was Ginny kissing her.

"I'll talk to you soon," Ginny said softly, squeezing Hermione's shoulder.

She turned, walked to the door and opened it. Looking back for a moment, Hermione was watching her with a mixed expression of pain and confusion. As she turned around to walk out of the room, her own tears finally escaped.

* * *

Hermione didn't sleep that night. She had managed a few more bites of her food before she started feeling physically ill and had to stop. She knew there was nothing wrong with the food though. It was these damn butterflies.

So, she stayed up reading through most of the night, feeling far too uneasy to be able to relax enough to go to sleep. Every now and then, when her concentration wavered, she'd find herself thinking about Ginny, and wondering if she was lying in bed awake too. Eventually, she got to a point of feeling so restless that she couldn't stay in bed reading anymore.

She swung her legs over the side of the bed, feeling around for her slippers for a moment before sliding her feet into them, standing up and padding over to her wardrobe to take her bag down with her.

'_I'm going to go do some work,'_ she thought to herself as she walked out of her dorm and down the hall to the staircase down to the common room.

It was only one o'clock in the morning when Hermione sat down to start working. She worked rather well for an hour or two, quickly finishing off an Arithmancy essay, and an extra-curricular Herbology report. Her concentration and thoughts remained undisturbed until she came across a piece of parchment with her writing, and Ginny's on it.

The pair had exchanged this piece of parchment over the period of a week closer to the start of that year. Hermione bit her lip as she read through the conversation, wondering if Ginny had 'liked' her when she was writing these notes.

Hermione put the parchment down and lifted her legs to her so she was hugging her knees. The butterflies were back, and her thoughts were back on Ginny. She wanted to know why the memory of kissing Ginny wasn't a bad one, or an uncomfortable one. She wanted to know why she felt this uncontrollable urge to do it again.

She knew why she had reacted with tears when Ginny had left earlier; she didn't _want_ to stop talking to Ginny for an unknown period of time... she _needed_ the redheaded girl to talk to, to spend time with. Harry and Ron were the only two other people she spent time with, apart from Ginny, and she knew that if she was to only socialise with boys for a few weeks, she'd go crazy.

Hermione closed her eyes and leaned her forehead on top of her knees, letting the tears come again, wanting the woman she loved to stop being so selfish and come back to...

'_Wait,'_ Hermione thought to herself. _'Woman I love?'_

She lifted her head slowly, tears still rolling down her cheeks. She looked over at the girl's staircase and her eyes widened with the realisation; _I love her_.

* * *

_Yo duermo y duermo y duermo... para no pensar._


	3. Part III

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter

**A/N: Oki… I'm so incredibly sorry this is so late -.- I actually finished this a while ago, but uni and life generally got in the way of this being posted. A huge thanks to Mon for the editing job she did… ty baby ;)**

**Anyway, this is the last of this story. Perhaps the last you'll hear from me for a little while. One of my friends spent the other night trying to jumpstart my muse to get me to write something else lol, but I'm not sure I have anything to write about at the moment.**

**I hope you enjoy the last installment to **_**La Alegría**_**. And please remember to review! Oh also, the reason for the rating becomes apparent in this part... just a warning ;)  
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**La Alegría – Part III**

"You look tired Hermione," Harry said, looking at her worriedly.

Hermione looked at him through droopy eyes. "I'm alright," she said, buttering her toast carefully. "I stayed up for a bit, doing some homework."

"I thought I told you to stop doing that," Harry sighed, chewing on his eggs thoughtfully.

"I'm fine, honestly Harry. I just wish they'd serve coffee in the morning," she muttered. As soon as she said that, a cup and saucer appeared before her, filled to the brim with delicious, black coffee.

Harry grinned, "I guess Dobby heard you."

"Just this once, I'll let him do that for me," she said quickly, picking the coffee up and drinking deeply.

Harry laughed, "Good. So, did you get to talk to Ginny last night?"

Hermione nodded, swallowing her mouthful of coffee. "Yes, she brought my dinner to me."

"Are you two... alright?"

Hermione nodded again, "We will be."

"I don't suppose you're going to tell me what's going on?" Harry asked.

Hermione shook her head. "I'm sorry Harry. It's not that I don't trust you, I just want to deal with it first. I'll tell you after it's blown over."

"Alright. As long as you're okay."

She smiled and leaned over to kiss him on the cheek. "I am. Thank you."

He grinned back at her and winked, "'S what I'm here for."

* * *

Hermione didn't see Ginny that day. Not that she was really looking for her... the sudden realisation of the way she felt the night before had been quite a shock, if not entirely unexpected. Well... okay, so it wasn't entirely unexpected.

'_I guess I've been lying to myself for longer than I thought,'_ Hermione thought to herself at one point during the day.

She had come to the conclusion the night before, that she was never really that into men. Her feeble attempts to have relationships with them had all ended rather quickly, and the few kisses she had experienced with these boys had hardly left her wanting more. Viktor was always rather rough with her, and his stubble had scratched her face. Ron... well... he was just clumsy. That relationship hardly lasted two months and had ended in a screaming match between the pair that nearly brought Gryffindor Tower down about them.

When she thought about it, she remembered Ginny being there after both of these relationships failed. When Viktor left after the Triwizard Tournament, Ginny had been there to talk to her about it. There were no tears, but the mere fact that the youngest Weasley girl had been there meant more to Hermione than anything. After The Fight, Ginny had come to her dormitory to calm her down, to rub her back soothingly and to hold her as she sobbed and cried over Ron's utter stupidity.

The more Hermione thought about it, the more she was convinced that she was far from straight. All day long, she had images of Ginny's various facial expressions in her mind. Grinning like an idiot at the thought of her laughing or giggling, stomach jumping around excitedly and nervously at the memory of the look of sheer _lust_ that was in Ginny's eyes right after the kiss ended last Saturday night.

By the time Hermione had left her last class of the day, she was convinced; she loved Ginny Weasley, and she was going to tell her so tonight.

* * *

"Ginny!" Hermione exclaimed, bursting into Ginny's dormitory.

"Hey Hermione," one of Ginny's roommates said, lying on the ground on her back with a book hovering above her head.

"Is Ginny here?" Hermione asked the younger girl quickly.

"Nope. She was here, but I think she's gone down to the library to study or something."

"Right, thanks!" Hermione said, quickly turning around and walking briskly away from the dorm.

"Thanks, Sarah," Ginny murmured from one of her other roommate's beds.

"No problem. So, you finally told her how you felt?"

"Yeah," Ginny said in a low voice. "I dunno why she isn't leaving me alone. I told her I needed space."

"Maybe she realised she felt the same way," Sarah said, reaching up to turn a page.

"I don't think so," Ginny sighed. "She's as straight as they come."

"Mmm," Sarah murmured. "Get some sleep, you hardly got any last night."

"Yeah," Ginny said softly, staring up at the canopy of the four-poster bed. She closed her eyes and tried to ignore the images of Hermione kissing her.

* * *

"Have you two seen Ginny tonight?" Hermione asked Harry and Ron, having searched the whole library.

Harry shook his head and Ron frowned up at her from beneath messed up hair, "No, but can you help me with this bollocks?"

Hermione bit her lip, "Ron, I really need to talk to Ginny."

"You can talk to her at dinner, come on Hermione," he pouted, "pretty please?"

She sighed, "Alright, fine. What is it?"

He grinned and beckoned her to sit next to him. "It's this stuff about creating your own wand motions in Charms."

"You still don't get this? Ron, we finished this topic a week ago!"

"Yeah, and Flitwick clearly went way too fast," he said, scowling down at the work before him.

"Why didn't you go over it with me on the weekend?"

"Because we were busy doing something else," he retorted. "Y'know, party in the Room of Requirement, Dean's a virgin and you and Ginny..."

"I know," Hermione cut in, glaring daggers at him. "Well, if we want to finish this before dinner, you're going to have to pay very close attention."

"Yes sir," he said, giving her a half salute.

Hermione couldn't help but smile slightly as she pulled his textbook towards her and started explaining the topic.

They managed to get through all the work right before dinner started. Hermione suspected Ron may have been lying about understanding the finer points of what she was trying to explain in order to get to dinner as fast as possible, but she wasn't complaining. She needed to talk to Ginny.

When they arrived in the Great Hall and sat down, Hermione looked up and down Gryffindor table, searching for long, red hair. She frowned when she couldn't see Ginny and suddenly didn't feel hungry at all.

"She's not here," she muttered.

"Who's not here?" Ron asked, beginning to stuff food into his mouth.

"Ginny," Harry answered for Hermione. "Hermione, eat something before you go off to look for her again," he said, pushing her plate a little closer to her.

Hermione sighed and smiled at Harry, "I'll eat a little bit. I just..."

"... Need to talk to her, I know," he said, an air of understanding about him. "She hasn't disappeared, she's just hiding somewhere."

Hermione nodded and picked up her knife and fork.

* * *

She was running back through the castle towards Gryffindor Tower now. She had finished half of her dinner before impatience overcame her. Ginny wasn't in the library and she wasn't at any of the places Hermione knew she liked to hide out at. So, Hermione was running as fast as she could back to Gryffindor Tower in an effort to catch Ginny before she disappeared somewhere else, hoping she was in her dorm.

She breathlessly gave the password to the Fat Lady ("Slow down girl! You'll give yourself a heart attack!"), and bounded through the portrait hole, rushing through the common room and up the girls' staircase.

She stopped outside Ginny's dorm, leaning on the door frame and breathing hard. After a moment she straightened back up, still breathing fast, and knocked on the door.

There was complete silence for a moment as Hermione held her breath to try to hear for the soft padding of feet on the ground making trails to the door. She realised this was a bad idea quickly, letting out her breath and trying to breathe in and out slowly in an effort to slow her heart down.

As she leaned on the door frame again, bowing her head and closing her eyes, she heard the door open before her. She lifted her head and found herself face to face with Ginny, who suddenly looked worried.

"Hermione! What's wrong? Why are you out of breath?" she asked, placing a steadying hand on Hermione's shoulder and rubbing it softly.

"I... need... to talk... to you," Hermione gasped, looking up at her with wide eyes.

"Alright," she said slowly. "Come and sit down." She helped Hermione over to her bed, sitting down on the edge of it with her and rubbing her back soothingly in small circles.

"Let me... catch my breath," Hermione said, leaning forward and resting her head in her hands, elbows on her knees.

"It's okay," Ginny said softly, still rubbing the older girl's back. She sighed inwardly and watched Hermione catch her breath, wishing she could pull her close and give her good reason for having lost it.

"I'm sorry," Hermione said in a low voice, still breathing slightly fast. "I know you asked for some space but I need to tell you something."

"It's okay," Ginny repeated. "If something's bothering you, of course I want you to come and talk to me about it."

Hermione nodded and raised her head to look at Ginny. "It's important."

Ginny smiled reassuringly, "Then tell me."

Hermione smiled nervously back and looked down at her hands. "You know, I've been focusing on looking for you and thinking more about what's going on when I should have been thinking about what to say to you, or how to tell you this," she sighed, standing up suddenly and beginning to pace.

"It's usually best to just come out with it," Ginny said, raising an eyebrow at the brunette.

Hermione smiled and bit her bottom lip. "Then I suppose I should start by saying that I think I've been wrong about something that I should've realised a while ago."

Ginny cocked her head to one side and frowned slightly. "Hermione, if this is about..."

"I think I've been confused," Hermione cut across Ginny, "and I know that this is going to sound crazy but I think... no, I know I like you too." She stopped pacing and turned to look down at Ginny.

Ginny was frowning and looking irritated, "Hermione, I don't want you to try..."

"I'm not trying anything!" the older girl said quickly.

"You are," Ginny said, standing up, "and I don't want you to feel like you have to tell me you feel the same way or pretend that you're not straight."

"I was wrong!" Hermione said desperately, darting forward to grab Ginny's arm as she tried to walk away. "I'm sorry..."

"You said that you're straight," Ginny said stubbornly, trying to wrench her arm out of Hermione's grip. "It's fine Hermione, just give me some time to deal with it."

"But..."

"I don't want you to just _tell_ me you feel the same way after learning I'm going to avoid you until I'm over you!" Ginny snapped, turning and glaring at Hermione. "I can't get over you if I talk to you every day, I already told you that."

Hermione's mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water – she felt like she was drowning, and that cold, sinking feeling was happening to her stomach again.

"Please?" Ginny sighed, now with a helpless look in her eyes.

Hermione closed her mouth, ignoring the tears that had escaped the corners of her eyes, she shook her head. "No," she said very quietly, her voice shaking slightly. "No, and if you don't fucking believe me, I guess I'll just have to show you."

"What...?"

Hermione cut Ginny off with an insistent kiss, almost immediately opening her mouth to suck at her bottom lip, urging Ginny to open her mouth too. Her stomach jolted pleasantly as she felt Ginny respond, tongues touching and fighting; Hermione moaned softly as she experienced the full force of Ginny's intoxicating kisses once more.

She backed the younger woman up against the wall, her hands tugging the tucked shirt out from Ginny's skirt, unbuttoning it quickly. Her lips left Ginny's as she trailed kisses across her jaw-line and down to her neck, nibbling softly on her skin. Ginny moaned helplessly as Hermione bit and sucked her neck. She gasped as she felt the older woman push her bra up roughly, groping at her breast and teasing her already rock-hard nipple.

"You've got to be fucking joking," Ginny swore under her breath, gasping again as Hermione pushed the other side of the bra up and began playing with her other breast.

Hermione came back up to her level and held eye contact with her carefully, "I'm not fucking joking," she whispered. "I was wrong before, when I said I didn't feel the same way. And I've been so confused about these feelings because... I never realised I had them before we kissed." She paused, looking thoughtful, "Should I stop?"

"No," Ginny said immediately. "I mean... not if you don't want to," she added quickly, allowing a small smile to slide onto her face.

Hermione smiled back, chewing on her bottom lip. "I left a mark on your neck," she noticed, eyes widening slightly at her handiwork.

Ginny laughed softly, "Yeah, I can feel it."

"It doesn't hurt, does it?" Hermione asked, touching it softly with her index finger.

"I can take it," Ginny murmured, gripping Hermione's hips suddenly and pulling her closer. "It felt good while you were doing it, anyhow." Before Hermione could respond, Ginny kissed her, switching positions so Hermione was now pushed up against the wall. The red-head quickly removed her own shirt and bra, before turning her attention to the brunette's school shirt, almost making the buttons burst off in her haste, all the while kissing Hermione furiously. Hermione breathed in sharply as she felt Ginny's hand enclose around her breast, chocolate brown eyes flying wide open to see crystal blue looking back at her hungrily. With one hand, Ginny snapped the clasps of the bra apart, and pulled the straps down, tossing it aside and leaning back to look at Hermione.

"I really don't think I would've been able to stop feeling so attracted to you," Ginny said softly, touching Hermione's left nipple with one finger. Hermione shivered slightly and pulled Ginny closer, her stomach lurching happily as their chests touched.

They kissed again, Ginny's fingers playing with Hermione's nipple expertly. She slowly moved her mouth away from Hermione's, trailing kisses down her neck, across her collarbone and down her chest to her left breast. Her tongue darted out to touch the centre softly and Hermione gasped again. Ginny grinned and took the tip in her mouth, sucking ever so slightly and flickering it with her tongue. Hermione let out a small moan and moved one of her hands to the back of Ginny's head, twisting her fingers through her hair, urging her to keep going. The younger woman obligingly sucked her in harder, making Hermione moan louder and clutch Ginny's head tighter. Ginny moved back, replacing her mouth and tongue with her fingers, trailing kisses back up to Hermione's mouth.

They kissed again, both girls now breathing hard, Hermione almost whimpering as Ginny teased and twisted her aching nipple.

"What do you want to do?" Ginny murmured huskily.

"Anything," Hermione replied hazily, resting her forehead on Ginny's. "I think we should move to your bed though. I'm not sure how long my legs are going to be able to carry my weight."

Ginny smiled and pulled Hermione towards the bed, climbing onto it with her and drawing the curtains around them. They kissed again once in complete privacy, savouring the taste of each other's mouths, revelling in the feel of their naked torsos pressed together.

"Lie down," Ginny said, breaking the kiss for a moment, running her fingers down Hermione's sides softly. The brunette obliged, continuing to kiss the redhead as she lay down. Pulling Ginny on top of her, she moved her legs apart as Ginny slid her thigh between them. She moved her hips against Ginny's thigh, moaning softly into the redhead's mouth, twisting her fingers through her hair and trying to pull her closer.

Hermione felt like she was spinning, the combined sensations of rubbing between her legs and Ginny's feather light touches up and down her bare waist speeding her heart rate up, making the need for oxygen that much more urgent. She broke the kiss and Ginny immediately moved her kisses to Hermione's neck, trailing kisses from there down to her heaving chest. Her fingers disappeared underneath Hermione's skirt, pressing the heel of her palm into her underwear-covered crotch and rubbing it in small circles. Hermione moaned softly, lifting one of her arms to cover her eyes, her other hand clutched at the back of Ginny's head.

"Take them off," Hermione murmured, clenching her teeth slightly as Ginny rubbed a particularly sensitive spot.

Ginny grinned, "Why would I do that?"

"Because you want me to do the same to you," Hermione said, almost growling at Ginny as she massaged her crotch slowly in a circle.

"Fair enough," Ginny replied, sliding Hermione's underwear off slowly, her grin widening as the brunette's crotch was slowly revealed. She moved off Hermione to lie next to her as she slipped her underwear down her legs, tossed them to the end of the bed and ran her hand back up the inside of Hermione's leg. She leaned forward and kissed Hermione's belly, still running her hand up the inside of her thigh, pushing her school skirt up with her other hand and beginning to plant kisses down her hip bone and thigh.

Ginny moved so she was between Hermione's legs and leant forward to kiss the inside of her thigh. Hermione moaned and bit her lip, clenching at the duvet beneath her. "Ginny," she murmured through clenched teeth.

Ginny laughed softly, "I know," and moved closer, spreading Hermione's lips and licking her softly. Hermione whimpered and moved her hands down to hold Ginny's hair out of the way, bending her legs at the knees and propping them up in an attempt to keep her hips still. She moaned again and her hips twitched as Ginny flickered her tongue a little faster over her clit. She breathed in sharply as she felt her push a single finger inside her.

Hermione felt light-headed for the third time that night, whimpering each time she felt Ginny push her fingers in and out of her. She felt her legs go slightly numb and tingling warmth began to spread out from her centre.

"I'm close," Hermione gasped, trying to stop her hips from bucking into Ginny's face.

Ginny gave her clit one last flicker with her tongue before moving back and up so she was face to face with Hermione, replacing her tongue with her fingers, rubbing her clit around in rapid circles. Hermione pulled Ginny close and kissed her desperately, digging her fingernails into her back; that tingling warmth shooting up and down her arms and legs. Hermione moaned into Ginny's mouth as she came, hips jerking and toes curling, her centre exploding with pleasure.

Ginny slowed the pace of her fingers and withdrew them from between Hermione's legs, massaging her mound gently and watching her hips stop jerking. She turned and looked down at Hermione. Her cheeks were flushed pink and she was still breathing fast, her eyes were closed and her head thrown back against the pillows beneath her.

"You are so incredibly beautiful," Ginny said softly.

Hermione smiled and opened her eyes, "And you are amazing," she murmured, pulling Ginny closer and kissing her tenderly. "I'm sorry I..."

"Don't apologise," Ginny cut across her. "It doesn't matter."

Hermione sighed happily and kissed Ginny again. "I can't believe we're here, like this," she said, rolling over so she was on top of Ginny.

"Me either," Ginny said, a lazy grin spreading across her features as she felt Hermione push her thigh in between her legs...

* * *

A silencing charm and an hour or two later, Hermione was busy listening to Ginny's chest, one of her legs draped across Ginny's legs and tracing small circles on her bare hip.

"Are you going to stay with me tonight?" Ginny asked, trailing her fingertips up and down Hermione's side.

Hermione smiled and sat up slightly to look at her lover. "If you don't mind having an extra person in your bed."

"I don't mind, as long as it's you," Ginny replied, smiling back at her.

"Good," Hermione moved forward to kiss Ginny's lips softly before lying back down next to her.

"What made you realise you felt the same way?" Ginny asked, turning on her side to face Hermione.

The older woman smiled and took one of Ginny's hands in hers, "Well, I couldn't sleep last night after you told me how you felt."

"You too, huh?" Ginny asked, squeezing Hermione's hand.

"Yeah," Hermione lifted Ginny's hand to her mouth and kissed it gently. "I ended up getting out of bed and going down to the common room to do some work. I found that piece of parchment we had passed between each other at the beginning of the year." She paused, looking thoughtful. "I guess I just kept on thinking about you, wondering if you had felt the way you do now back then, wondering why I didn't consider that kiss to be an awkward moment."

Ginny nodded. "I did feel the same way back then, for the record" she said, smiling at Hermione.

"How long have you felt like this?" Hermione asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I think I've been feeling like this for a few years now, but I only realised it during the summer," Ginny moved a little closer to Hermione, resting a hand on the curve of her waist. "What did you realise last night?" she asked, raising an eyebrow at the older woman.

Hermione sighed and smiled at the younger woman, "That I love you."

Ginny smiled back at her and kissed her lips softly, "I love you too."

"Good," Hermione murmured, snuggling closer to Ginny. "Let's go to sleep now though. Neither of us got any sleep last night."

"Sounds good," Ginny said, reaching down for the sheets and pulling them up and over them both.

* * *

**The End.**


End file.
